Magazine door assembly



1965 w. M. MAGERS ETAL 3,

MAGAZINE DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 50. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 g Wm/Tons W////am M. Magers Palmer 6. Wermager B) ia AT TORNE YS Jan. 26, 1965 w. M. MAGERS ETAL 3,167,339

MAGAZINE DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 30. 1961 '5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1965 w. M. MAGERS ETAL MAGAZINE DOOR ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 30, 1961 1965 w. M. MAGERS ETAL 3,167,339

MAGAZINE DCOR ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 30, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 26, 1965 w, M. MAGERS ETAL 3,167,339

MAGAZINE DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 50, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 QPEN TO CLOSE FIG. 7

FIG. 8

' vide' a deck-mounted fixedactuatorfor The present invention relates generally to door assembliesand closures therefor,and more particularly it pertains to an armament magazine hatchway door assembly havinga locking system of high integrity.

, Door essemblies ofv this type are used in rugged serv1ce usually on shipboard and are required to be watertight, .flarnetight, and capable of remaining closed under great gas pressure, inttheevent of a magazine fire. Further,

- United States Pat ent the exigencies of modern armament dictate rapid opening and closing times and mechanism which is adaptable to automation. Because of the great length of the doors, in the range of thirty feet or more, the latching means must be distributed uniformly to preserve the seal when the doors are closed.

In the light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for safety latching greatly elongated doors so they will withstand high internalpressure and temperature without, leaking.

Another. object of this invention is to provide a hydraulically operated, automatically sequenced, series of safety and eamlatches and door actuators for opening and securely closing fluid tight doors.

Still another object of the present invention is to proa movable door mounted safety'latch. v

And yet another object of thisinvention is to provide door-closed hydraulically operated earns. for magazine doors.

. Still another object is to provide a door. assembly having asystem of hydraulically actuated latches and earns for securely lockingdoor members of said assembly in their opened or closed positions.

Other objects" and" many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed'clescription whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a dimetric view of a magazine door assembly used in connection with'a' missile feeder system, partly broken to foreshorten the depiction thereof;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the magazine door assembly taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail cross-section of the magazinedoors taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged plan view of a section of thesafety latch; FIG. 4A is an exploded view of the safety latch section shown in- FIG. 4;

zine door arrangement showing the magazine doors opened;

latch bar assembly 12, which comprises the movable portion of the zipper-type latching means.

This latch bar assembly. 12 is arranged to slide longitudinally for a short distance along the edge of its door it and it carries, at spaced intervals, a plurality of latching hooks 14 which cooperate with a series of notched latching blocks 16 that are arranged at spaced intervals along the inboard edge of the right door 18.

As best shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 4A the latch bar assembly lz comprises a continuous elongated bar 20 having raised portion-s 26'and longitudinally elongated slots 34) extending alternately along its entire length. When bar 29 is mounted] alongthe inboard edge of door ill the raised portions 26 define slots 21 (FIG. 4A) which receive the tongue portions 27 of'latching hooks 14, the tongue portions being anchored withinsaid slots 21 by means of cap screws 28. .The elongated slots 30interspaced between raised portions 26 receive reduced portions 32 ('FIG. '3) of guide and retainer blocks 34, which blocksseat upon hardened slide plates 36, said blocks and slide plates being fixedly secured to the inboard edge of door 11 by means of cap screws 38.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the guide and retainer blocks 34 are substantially T-shaped in cross-section and are of such dimension as to allow slidingaction of the slotted. portions of bar 29 between the hardened slide plates 36. and the head portion of said guide and retainer blocks 34. These slide plates and their associated slots 30 are so designed as'to maintain the alignment of the latch bar assembly :12 with respect to the edge 'of'door it while permitting reciprocating longitudinal movement of bar 20 through a stroke of approximately one to three-inches when said her is actuatedto engage or disengage latching hooksdd from notched latchway blocks 1o. It should be noted that slide plates 36 have the additional function of assisting in retaining-an edge; gasket 49 positioned in a notch 42 at the edge of the door :10, as best depicted in --FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a generally diagrammatic plane view of the door latch bar assemblyin the released or open condition thereof and FIGI8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, showing the latch bar assembly in the closed or latched condition thereof.

i as to come into side contact when closed. The left door 1th is provided at its inboard edge with a continuous rigid The latching hooks 14 are each formed with a cutaway corner 44 which longitudinally houses a semicylindricalhardened key or insert 46. The notched latchway blocks 16, which are fastened close to the edge of the door .18 by cap screws 48, are provided with a hardened groove or notch 50 so-located as to receive the key 46 in close fitting relationship whenthe latch bar assembly 12 is shifted lengthwise, thereby securely I in a corner notch 58 along the edge of door 18.v

All around the inner edge of the hatch frame 69, there is provided a gasket 62. which is compressed by the under surface of the doors 10 and 18 when they swing down on their hinges 6d.

When the doors 10 and 18 are closed, bar 20 of the latch bar assembly 12' becomes drivingly engaged with hooked piston rod 72 of a deck mounted actuating piston 76 by means of an actuating shaft 66, as shown best in FIGS. 5 to 8. It is the function of the piston 79 to pull upon this actuating shaft 66 and cause the latching hooks 14 to engage with the notched latching blocks 16.

During the first portion of the travel of the actuating shaft 66, a spring-held detent 68 is cammed against its spring 74 into its disengaged or release position, whereby the pointed end of detent 63 registers with notch 69 in bar 20 and. then with continued movement of rod 72 to the right, as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, bar assembly 2% is urged to the right forcing latching hooks '14 into locking engagement with notched latchway blocks 16.

In the unlocked condition, as shown in FIG. 5 and when the doors 10 and 18 are open as shownin'FiG. 6,

Patented-Jan. as, 19 65.

the latch detent- 68 butts against theeend'o f the latch bar 'assembly 12 and preventsit from accidently being 'displaced by vibration or jshock into otherfthan a fully" opened or' unlocked position. 7 addition toKthe safety latching means cams'76, shown in anunlatche'd' condition inFIGS. and 6. Thesetlockinggcanis 76 cooperate with latch fingers" 78 which are provided; with rollers 110i. at the latched or engaged end 111 thereof and fixedat the" just described; the doors 10 and 18 have apair-of door-closed locking opposite ends thereof on the, inside surfaces, respectively" r of thedoors-IO and 18. Each locking cam 76'functions in a manner. similar to a turn button and operates "by being rotated through one quarter revolutionJay?a'ver-" {I tical shaft 80 connected thereto. Thesh'aftSO'isattached to and driven at itslower end .byjagear sector-82 which meshes with a rack which islintegral with hydraulic piston 84. I

' A door-openlatch side of thedoor 10. to preventfinadvertent closing of,

the magazine doors. A spring-loaded bell 'crank'90;

having a roller tipj88 bears against this earn 86 and cam 86 is tamed to the flunder-mii. '20

fpiston 96'through a retract stroke.

crank a counter-clockwise direction; fikm' in FIGS;'5 and 6, to disengage roller tip 88 from notch 92,"

whereupon-doors,10, 18 are free to close by actuation of The: vdoor-locking sequence is the; reverse of that above related as to the 'door-openingsequence. i

Obviously many modifications' and variations of the v v 'rresent'inventio'n are possible in light of the above teachings. It is,ltherefore,;to be understood that within'the scope of the appended claim the invention may be practiced otherwiseithan as specifically described. I

What isclaimed is: a i

A latching meehanism for a pair of hinged doors meeting" alongjtheir inner edges in sealing relationship comprising: anelo'ngated bar mounted-forrelative re ciprocal linear movement-on the surface ofone door andadjacent to {its meeting edge, said bar being; alternately formed with raised portions and fslotted portions, said raised portions forming aislot withi'theg door surface; a

plurality, of latching hooks adjustably. mounted in theslot formed ofl thjeobar and the door surface; semi-Cy lindrical insertsmount'ed "on each; ofi said'latching hooks;

engages'a 'detent notch. 92 thereon when thefdoor's 10 and 18 'are fully opened. Wh'en thedoors 10 f 'a nd-18' 4 I are rtotbeiclose'd, a piston 94" is; actuated to move the bell crank 90-clockwise, as viewed in F1616;

engage the roIIer tip 88 from the notch 92.

I The'fdoors'f10 and 18 'are opened and closed ibyi a': 7

door" operating piston-396;, The upper end of the piston, "96 is fastened to a guide. 98- which runs on tracks 100.

asv best shown'in FIGQ 2. This' guide 98 is connected to a pair o'f'pivo ted links 102 which pus'hjor pull-uponfl the magazinertdoo -s m and -18 to open and close'same In operation, beginning with the doors 1 0,"''18 intli eir closed positionypiston r ack s184are hydraulically actuated,

to rotate shafts 80 and their associated Qcams 76 through approximately acne-quarter, turn to' release latch fingers} 78.1 Simultaneously, piston IQrishydraulically actuated through an 'e'xtendlstroke, forcing actuating shaft 66, and

consequently bar 20, to latch; unlocked; position, where-.

i upon d'etent 68 is need to be returnedby' s pring 74 engage and hold bar'20 in its. latch-open position.- 'Piston 96 is thenactuate'd to-swing'doors 10,' 1'8 upwardly andoutwardly into their'op'en position; through peration? "of track-mountedguide 98 and links 102.1 As door 10 i is swung into its fullyfopened positiong roller-tipped,-vf

spring-biased bell crank 90 engages thenotch 92 in door open latch to'locldoorfill and, by v irtue of interconnectingilinkage 98, 102,} door 18 fin their fully opened positions; When itiiis desired} o'close I the doors, piston l9 4 jsvhydraulically actuated -t'o l rotate bell Eac'qmiherj;

to' disinsertreceiving-blocks mounted on'the other of;said

doorsandin sucha relation as toreceive the insert of ithe latchin g hooks in tight engagement;hydraulically operated meansjengaging the elongated barto move; it '1on-' gitudinally intoor out of a locking position; said hydrau licall y operating fmeans being in; actuating" position when the doors are closedfand completely free of the latching mechanism'when the doors are open; and asafety means' engaging the latching mechanismiwhen said "latching latching operati I .1 fleaig624 ,r 718,101

" V HARRISON? R MosnLEY,1Prim-gb Eaa 'ihr;

mechani sm isin open position, to'greta'inu the latchingmechanism in: open-position; said safety means being re-l t leased-by the liydraulically' operated means} prior: to the R f i c edsbr hQ' hmi Q I TEQ STAT TENT 

